At that moment, _timelessness_ descended upon the scene--upon Charley Mason's store, the yard, the outhouse. _Timelessness_ bounded the area from one edge of Charley's yard to the other, and from the road clear to the woods out back; and that _timelessness_ extended downward to a perfect point at the very center of the Earth, and extended upward in a perfect cone to Heaven; and within its boundaries nothing that happened was visible to the outside world, or indeed even "happened" so far as the outside world was concerned: for it all happened in _timelessness_ ... in one of those particles of time-substance which exists _between_ microseconds on Earth's time continuum: particles so small that they are of use only to angels, who in their work must often get between people and their intended deeds faster than seems possible. The young man's calm eyes looked into the minds of the three old men on the porch, and saw no evidence there of lewd or lascivious thoughts of the magnitude reported by the fat lady in her prayer. This did not surprise him, for exaggeration is the backbone of prayer, and the Heavenly Workers are used to it. In particular are they used to nuisances like the fat lady, who continually turn in false alarms. Closing his eyes, the young man contacted his secretary-cherubim in his office in Heaven. The cherubim immediately returned the dossiers of Luke and Sam and Charley Mason to the Heavenly Files, with no additional notations on the debit side. That done--for nothing is so urgent in the eyes of Heaven as the latest data on souls--the young man turned his attention to the outhouse. He saw the cowbell, and his lips pursed. He left the porch, walking lightly, and crossed the yard to the outhouse. The three old men watched him dreamily, unmoving, comprehending, gripped by _timelessness_ and a sense of wonder. The young man opened the crescented door and went in. The chain yanked. The cowbell went _Blongle, blongle, blok!_ The young man reappeared in the door and looked at the old men on the porch. He pursed his lips again and shook his head reprimandingly. He disappeared again. A second later, the cowbell and chain and angle-iron disappeared too. * * * * * The young man came out, dusting his hands with a white handkerchief. He came back across the yard and mounted the steps. He seated himself on the porch railing, where he could face the three old men. "Shame on you," he said. The men cast their eyes downward. "The lady's accusations were somewhat excessive," the young man said. "Your motives seem not to have been primarily lascivious, and I have so informed Heaven. But still ... don't you think you should be ashamed of yourselves?" He paused. "You may nod if you wish." The men nodded, eyes dreamy. "After all," the young man said, "isn't that rather a snide trick to play on tired travelers who seek your hospitality?" Charley Mason's mouth worked; his Adam's apple bobbed.